Making Acquaintances
Riley wasn’t kidding. The unruly band of children accosted Dorian the moment he stepped onto to the cargo ramp. Candies and gum…shine your boots…my older sister is the best in town…hot food…wax your mustache…best reefer in the ‘verse…he heard it all, shouted at once by a dozen little voices. They circled him, each trying to be louder than the rest. The occasional hand would slip into a pocket of his duster, only to withdraw empty. “Y’all quiet down….quiet…QUIET!” the dentist shouted above the din as he withdrew his cash purse. At the sight of the money, every little mouth buttoned shut. “Here’s how ya make some coin,” he instructed the pack. “Take these cards,” Dorian said as he doled out ten to each of the children, “and Ah’m payin yah tah spread ‘em all ovah town.” The excitement grew as he handed a single credit coin to each child. One little grifter tried to reach for a second, only to have his hand slapped away by the dentist. “Y’all know tha Gold Strike Saloon?” he asked. The chorus of “yeah” and “yessir” all died abruptly at the sight of a five credit note. “Ah’ll be there fah an hour. First one of yah brings me a payin’ customer gets this. Now, go on…git!” The mob exploded in all directions as each child sought to outdo the others in spreading the word. Dorian checked the pockets of his vest and trousers. Fortunately, the duster coat had protected their contents from sticky little fingers. Likewise both guns, locked securely into their holsters. “Mad dogs and Englishmen,” he muttered the classic verse as the noonday sun of Ezra wore heavy and hot upon his shoulders. The cries of the children could still be heard as he stepped onto the planking of the Gold Strike Saloon. Dorian stomped his feet, patted the dust from his coat, and pushed the swinging doors wide to enter the barroom. Like the town outside, the Gold Strike had seen much better days. Despite its’ terraforming, Ezra could lay no claim to fame, either through history, commerce, or tourism. A few decades past, one enterprising soul attempted to jump start the town’s fortunes by claiming he’d found gold in the surrounding mountains. As history told it, there was a gold rush of sorts in the aftermath, albeit short lived when prospectors and miners could find little more than lead…from the end of a gun. Thus ended the fortunes of Ezra…and this developing ghost town. The saloon was empty, save for two grizzled types at the bar. They nursed their drinks, neither one bothering to look up at the stranger in their midst. But their eyes, Dorian noted, tracked his reflection in the cloudy mirror behind the bar. “It…is…hot,” he said as a boot landed on the bar’s footrail. “Ever day, mister.” The barkeep was a round woman, fiftiesh, with sweat matted grey hair stuck down tight to her head. “Come in on that ship?” she asked. “Ah did. Kindly pour me a shot of whatevah those gentlemen are havin’,” he said as he presented a card. “Dorian Adler, docatah of dental surgery, at yah service, ma’am.” He pretended not to notice the filmy glass she offered, or the rotgut choking burn of the cheap whiskey as he downed it. “We’re in town fah a day, and Ah thought tah come by your establishment fah a couple favors.” “Don’t do favors,” she muttered. “These are simple,” he smiled as the twenty landed on the bar. “If yah’d be so kind as tah tell yah customers Ah’m takin’ patients til eleven tomorrow mornin’, Ah’d be grateful.” “What’s the other?” “Thought Ah might spend some time in your establishment tahnight,” Adler replied. “A couple drinks, perhaps get a card game up. But while Ah’m here,” he continued, “Ah need tah plug in one of mah appliances to yah wall power for a couple hours. Tha manual says twenty amps.” “We got that,” she nodded. “It’ll generate some heat.” “Ever’things hot here,” she chuckled. “We’ll put ‘er out back, with the barbecue pit. She can get as hot as she wants out there.” Dorian smiled. “Excellent. That’ll be most helpful, uh, Ah didn’t catch yah name?” “I din’ offer it,” she said. “Carlotta. Carlotta Holmes, proprietor.” “Charmed,” Dorian grinned as he kissed her sweaty hand. “Might Ah have anothah shot?”